Newsletter from Tuesday, April 18th, 2023
Dear NCH2 Community,
The unusual warmth of the last two weeks has Mother Nature gearing up for the growing season. But then wintery episodes encourage us all to take pause before we remove precious leaf litter that has protected overwintering pollinators like butterflies, bees, and other insects.
This week we encourage everyone to spend time this upcoming weekend to volunteer with your local park litter cleanup, tree mulching, beach cleanup or Earth celebration. Later in the month Arbor Day celebrations offer the opportunity to honor our trees--from the White Oak, our state tree--to the many other native trees that create our regional tree canopy. They help clean our air, our water, shelter us from the heat, restore us, and offer rest. To know how to advocate on behalf of our regional trees, check out programs that the Chicago Regional Tree Initiative offers in our Events section below.
Thanks for reading. Share your pic for your favorite tree or park in honor of Earth Month/Arbor Day!
NCH2
This week we encourage everyone to spend time this upcoming weekend to volunteer with your local park litter cleanup, tree mulching, beach cleanup or Earth celebration. Later in the month Arbor Day celebrations offer the opportunity to honor our trees--from the White Oak, our state tree--to the many other native trees that create our regional tree canopy. They help clean our air, our water, shelter us from the heat, restore us, and offer rest. To know how to advocate on behalf of our regional trees, check out programs that the Chicago Regional Tree Initiative offers in our Events section below.
Thanks for reading. Share your pic for your favorite tree or park in honor of Earth Month/Arbor Day!
NCH2
Index
Community Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Future Events: Save the Date
Job Opportunities
In the News
Connect with Us
Community Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Future Events: Save the Date
Job Opportunities
In the News
Connect with Us
Community Spotlight:
Environmental Justice on the Southside of Chicago
Confined Disposal Facility, Calumet Beach, adjacent to Lake Michigan 2023
Disbelief is a word that comes to mind for all of us gathered during the recent Friends of the Parks (FOTP) monthly walk in late March. We were clustered around Juanita Irizarry, FOTP Executive Director, as she explained the decades-old dredging practices of the Army Corps of Engineers where toxic chemicals are dumped into an area 25 feet away from Lake Michigan. On a beautiful spring day, sun glistening on the water, we struggled to understand the impact of these practices on our drinking water and to the air that surrounds the nearby parks and neighborhoods. Sandwiched between Steelworkers' Park and Calumet Beach Park on the Chicago Indiana border, the Confined Disposal Facility contains accumulated materials from the Calumet Rive. FOTP recently joined with the Alliance of the Southeast and the Environmental Law and Policy Center in a lawsuit to force a different practice and solution to the materials that accumulate in the river on its way into Lake Michigan.
“Everyone in Chicago must have the chance to enjoy time in nature in their community, and that is threatened at Calumet Park, knowing that chemicals like PCBs, arsenic, lead, mercury and more are leaching into the water just north of the beach. Plus, it poses threats to Chicago’s current and future water supply, especially with the Army Corps of Engineers proposing to build the dump 25 feet higher right on the lakefront in the path of increasingly frequent and severe storms that have already caused revetments to fail and other lakefront damage both at Calumet Park and elsewhere!" Irizarry explained to our group. With the election of a new mayor Brandon Johnson who frequently spoke of environmental justice, there is hope that a different solution will emerge. Thinking about the Folded Map Project where Tonic Johnson encourages all of us to think about our urban environment and the impact of segregation and inequitable resources, one had to wonder would this dumping facility exist on the Northside. To learn more about the lawsuit, read here.
“Everyone in Chicago must have the chance to enjoy time in nature in their community, and that is threatened at Calumet Park, knowing that chemicals like PCBs, arsenic, lead, mercury and more are leaching into the water just north of the beach. Plus, it poses threats to Chicago’s current and future water supply, especially with the Army Corps of Engineers proposing to build the dump 25 feet higher right on the lakefront in the path of increasingly frequent and severe storms that have already caused revetments to fail and other lakefront damage both at Calumet Park and elsewhere!" Irizarry explained to our group. With the election of a new mayor Brandon Johnson who frequently spoke of environmental justice, there is hope that a different solution will emerge. Thinking about the Folded Map Project where Tonic Johnson encourages all of us to think about our urban environment and the impact of segregation and inequitable resources, one had to wonder would this dumping facility exist on the Northside. To learn more about the lawsuit, read here.
Upcoming Events
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Earth Month Cleanups
Chicago Friends of the Parks Forest Preserves of Cook County Earth Week Events in Lake County Evanston Events Naperville Park District Geneva Earth Day Celebration Openlands--community forestry events throughout the region Date: April 21-30th Location: Chicagoland area |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Photo by Laura Derks
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Arbor Day Tree Plantings and More Treemendous Opportunities
The Chicago Regional Trees Initiative is hosting many Tree Plantings in the region, Tree Inventory Training, Tree Walks, and How to become a Tree Advocate training. All of these opportunities are detailed as well as registration in the link here. Date: Mid-April 12 into May. |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Illinois Ornithological Society Now Accepting Grant Applications
The Illinois Ornithological Society is pleased to announce that they are now accepting applications for the 2023 Illinois Ornithological Society Grant Program. Awards of up to $1,000 are available to applicants conducting projects related to birds and/or birding in Illinois. Grants are available to students, professionals, and organizations. Deadline is due April 21st! Learn more and apply here or email Matt Igleski at [email protected] |
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Chicago Walk-With-A-Doc programs North and South Sides
Presented by the Chicago Parks Foundation in partnership with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, the Walk with a Future Doc program kicks off in 2023 in an effort to present a low-key way to experience better health in the outdoors. All community members are invited to participate, and children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Learn more and sign up here. |
Future Events: Save the Date and Join Us!
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Chicago Public Schools, Healthy Schools Campaign, Openlands, and Advocates for Green Agriculture to host its first Green and Growing Summit
On May 6th, this broad coalition will host a daylong summit, which is open to all "growing" enthusiasts, whether classroom teachers, urban agriculturalists, or community members. The event is free, breakfast and lunch is provided, and childcare will be available as well! For more information about the Summit or to register, connect here. If you would like to volunteer at the event, connect here. Date: Saturday, May 6th Location: Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences 3857 West 111th Street Chicago |
Photo from Space to Grow, Morrill Math and Science Academy
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Volunteer for Chicago River Day
Amazing volunteers come together every year since 1992 to give the Chicago and Calumet Rivers a good spring cleaning on Chicago River Day, part of our effort to create a Litter Free Chicago-Calumet river system. Its health is rebounding but litter remains a stubborn problem. Have fun, get inspired by fellow volunteers, and make a positive impact on the health of the river cleaning the watershed from Lake County to the Calumet. Register before May 5 to receive a Chicago River Day T-shirt! Learn more here. Date: Saturday, May 13 Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Click here to find a location here you |
Photo by Radhika Chopra
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Photo by Laura Derks
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Host a City Nature Challenge Event
The City Nature Challenge is a global bioblitz that takes place from April 28 through May 1, 2023. It's a great opportunity to engage people in your community to learn about the nature that surrounds them. All observations in the following counties count for the challenge. Illinois: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Will Indiana: Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter Wisconsin: Kenosha We already have events in many counties but we'd love to add yours to the list. We'll help promote all the City Nature Challenge: Chicagoland Region events and share your results. Your event also helps researchers and land managers better understand and protect urban nature. Learn more here. |
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Spring Festival & Trailside’s 90th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate 90 years of nature education and springtime at Trailside Museum! Enjoy an ice cream social and participate in family-friendly historical activities. Enjoy animal encounters, kids’ tree climb, guided wildflower walks, bird banding, dip netting, building a bird house to take home, and much more! Learn more here. Date: Sunday May 1st Time: 11 AM - 3 PM Location: Trailside Museum of Natural History |
Photo by Forest Preserves of Cook County
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Job Opportunities
Elevate is looking to fill several positions. Look through their career opportunities here.
Lake County Forest Preserves is looking for applicants for it Youth Conservation Corp positions. Learn more here.
Equiticity is looking to fill its Director of Community Mobility Rituals. Learn more here.
Faith in Place Eco-Ambassador applications for area high school students are open! Learn more here.
The Friends of the Forest Preserves is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Imani Green Health Advocates Is looking for applicants for its Paid Trainee and Mentor positions. Learn more here.
Land Trust Alliance is looking for candidates for the Community-Centered Conservation Program Manager role. Deadline for applications is April 30th. Learn more here.
Openlands is looking to fill two positions: Institutional Grants Manager and the Policy and Advocacy Associate. Learn more here.
Seven Generations Ahead is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Star Farm is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Please send us your job openings to be featured!
Lake County Forest Preserves is looking for applicants for it Youth Conservation Corp positions. Learn more here.
Equiticity is looking to fill its Director of Community Mobility Rituals. Learn more here.
Faith in Place Eco-Ambassador applications for area high school students are open! Learn more here.
The Friends of the Forest Preserves is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Imani Green Health Advocates Is looking for applicants for its Paid Trainee and Mentor positions. Learn more here.
Land Trust Alliance is looking for candidates for the Community-Centered Conservation Program Manager role. Deadline for applications is April 30th. Learn more here.
Openlands is looking to fill two positions: Institutional Grants Manager and the Policy and Advocacy Associate. Learn more here.
Seven Generations Ahead is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Star Farm is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Please send us your job openings to be featured!
In the News
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Data From NU Model Underscores Disproportionate Impact of Pollution on Marginalized Communities
A recent study from Northwestern University (NU) found elevated levels of ozone in lakefront communities and of other air pollutants in areas of heavy traffic, highlighting the environmental hardships borne by some low-income areas and communities of color, according to a WBEZ story. Authored by Indira Khera, the story describes different types of pollution as detected by Northwestern scientists who “used mathematical equations to simulate chemical and physical reactions. They pulled emissions data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and also looked at building types, land cover and weather conditions,” Khera’s story said. The lakefront pollution is “secondary” – that is, the ozone is formed by pollutants exposed to sunlight and carried, in this case, eastward, by lake breezes. Areas near the interstate highways traversing the Chicago area “see twice the concentration of pollutants compared to areas with the lowest pollution levels in Chicago,” according to the study. The City of Chicago has acknowledged that the impacts of pollution are “magnified disproportionately by structural racism and historic disinvestment in Black and Latino communities,” she wrote. Read more here. |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Girl Scouts setting up tents for a day trip at Paradise Park.
1950 (circa) Mozert, Bruce, 1916-2015.
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Two NPS Studies Examine Exclusion and Resilience in the Face of Racist Park Policies
A panel discussion at Organization of American Historians conference in Los Angeles in late March focused on two recent studies of how Black Americans coped with the white exclusiveness in parks and recreation areas. The studies, African American Outdoor Recreation and Segregation in Virginia Parks, 1916-1965, compiled by the National Park Service and its partner historians, were released to the public in early April. The studies examine racist policies and practices that excluded Blacks from so-called public recreation areas; they also look at the creative resilience Black people showed in developing their own means and places for recreation. The article quotes NPS Principal Historian Turkiya Lowe: “The history of U.S. outdoor recreation demonstrates that the African American quest for freedom, justice, and equality has long been waged on a variety of fronts. It also illustrates how even in the face of ongoing struggles for equality, African Americans still created meaningful opportunities to enjoy leisure, recreation and the outdoors.” Read more here. |
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For Workouts, Outside Beats Inside
Gretchen Reynolds, in an April 12 Washington Post newsletter, wrote that research found that outside exercise – even a short walk in a park – shows more mental and physical benefits than does the same amount of exercise done inside. Known as “green exercise,” outdoor activities have been found to improve memory and concentration more “substantially more than completing the same brief walk inside,” according to a study of green exercise led by Katherine Boere, a neuroscience doctoral candidate at the University of Victoria. Ms. Boere cited a theory that “the natural world encourages even the jumpiest among us to relax, slowing the onslaught of internal ruminations about every pressing concern, and letting our whirring brains quiet. … [N]ature provides what scientists call ‘soft fascination’… it holds our attention without demanding constant intellectual processing. Our overtaxed attention can reset, and afterward, we can concentrate and reason more readily.” See more about this study here. |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Photo by Laura Derks
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Ramping Down: Plant Rather Than Forage for Wild Greens
Spring entices people to interact with nature, and one of the temptations of a walk in the woods is to forage for wild greens – ramps, for example, and fiddlehead ferns. In her April 5 column in the New York Times, Margaret Roach interviewed author and field botanist Jared Rosenbaum. He notes the “staggering” amount of damage caused by digging a patch of wild leeks, called ramps. It could take up to five years for the plants to recover. Mr. Rosenbaum and his wife, Rachel Mackow, who operate Wild Ridge Plants in New Jersey, encourage their clients to incorporate edible plants into their landscapes, thereby easing some of the pressure on nature. Among their suggestions are Giant Solomon’s Seal, Canadian wood nettle [which, like its cousin, stings), cutleaf coneflower, Jerusalem artichoke and American groundnut. |
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Company Seeks Approval of CO2 Pipeline Without Public Input
Illinois environmental activists are objecting to a request for fast-track approval of a proposed 1,300-mile pipeline that would carry carbon dioxide to several spots in the Midwest. Based in Omaha, Navigator Co2 says on its website that the pipeline will provide “biofuel producers and other rural industrial processors in five Midwest states with a long-term and cost-effective means to reduce their carbon footprint.” A recent story in the Chicago Tribune, though, reports the activists’ concerns, such as that there has been no environmental report on the impact of the pipeline and that the company is seeking fast-track approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, bypassing public input. Read more here. |
Image, Illinois Extension
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Connect with Us!
We are taking requests for any upcoming events to be added to future newsletters, new job postings, and any reports or tools you think we could share with our community which can be done here. You can also submit materials for the next newsletter by emailing [email protected].
FOLLOW US on our social media by clicking the icons below!
CREATE your own stories on Instagram and tag @NCH2Network so we can share how you engage with nature; we would love to see them!
EMAIL US and keep us updated on local events, exciting opportunities in the area, or send photos of local nature to be featured on the website.
CONTACT US at [email protected].
We are taking requests for any upcoming events to be added to future newsletters, new job postings, and any reports or tools you think we could share with our community which can be done here. You can also submit materials for the next newsletter by emailing [email protected].
FOLLOW US on our social media by clicking the icons below!
CREATE your own stories on Instagram and tag @NCH2Network so we can share how you engage with nature; we would love to see them!
EMAIL US and keep us updated on local events, exciting opportunities in the area, or send photos of local nature to be featured on the website.
CONTACT US at [email protected].